An adult person consumes, on average, about 1,900 grams of food per day. A large part of this amount consists of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In addition, we take small amounts of vitamins and minerals at the level of milligrams. In contrast to the amount of consumption, these micronutrients perform hundreds of functions in our bodies. They have duties in all aspects of body functioning, from energy production, cell regeneration, and skeletal health, to antioxidant effects. No vitamins and minerals other than D vitamins can be produced in the human body. Therefore, these should be taken through nutrition. We can’t complete our nutrition and continue our lives without providing enough vitamins and minerals as a whole.
The discovery of these micronutrients, divided into two different groups as vitamins and minerals, dates back to the new years in human history. Six years after Frederick Gowland Hopkins’s thesis, “No animal can survive only with pure protein, fat and carbohydrate mix”, the first vitamin definition made by Biochemist Casimir Funk greatly impacted the world of science. In 1941, all 13 types of vitamins were identified and categorized with intensive studies. Studies on minerals were made in the 1940s today. Studies on micronutrients are an essential health issue that is handled enough to enable 20 different scientists to receive 12 Nobel Prizes.
Vitamins are divided into two main groups: water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble B and C vitamins cannot be stored in the body to a large extent. Therefore, they are used simultaneously with their intake. Excessive amounts are excreted by the liver and do not create a toxic condition. For this reason, vitamins B and C should be taken in sufficient quantity and daily. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are stored in the liver and fat cells and are used as needed. If they are taken too much in connection with their storage properties, they can cause health problems.
On the other hand, minerals are divided into macrominerals used in high amounts and micro minerals used in traces. Macro minerals; Calcium, Chlorine, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, and Sulfur are listed. Micro minerals that we need in smaller amounts but still have essential duties in the functioning of our body and whose daily usage limits are determined; Iodine is Iron, Selenium, and Zinc.
The sharing of the Ministry of Health in the link below gives detailed information about all the vitamins and mineral types, resources, benefits, and health problems caused by deficiency. Suppose it is necessary to summarize the seasonally popular duties and their responsibilities in the system, usually only related to flu. In that case, Vitamin C is used in protein production for tissue growth and renewal throughout the body. It helps the absorption of the iron element from food. It prevents the damage caused by free radicals with its antioxidant effect. Accordingly, it has benefits for aging, heart disease, and cancer. It supports keeping the immune system strong. It is straightforward with this example that vitamin C should not only come to mind with the flu. The importance and effects of vitamins and minerals on health are more than we think.
Vitamins and minerals differ in structure. Vitamins are organic and can quickly lose their properties through the interaction of heat, air, and acid. Their delicate structures create handicaps so that we can get them in adequate amounts through food. Conversely, minerals can maintain their chemical properties more easily thanks to their inorganic form. It is more stable than vitamins, transported from soil and water and used by the body. Losses due to impoverished soil and physical factors are more common in minerals.
Despite the small amounts needed in our daily diet, health problems due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common in all societies; as I mentioned in the article titled ‘Hidden Hunger’, the fact that the foods we consume do not have nutritional value as much as they used to be and the nutritional habits based on limited variety are the main reasons for these problems. In addition, there are significant losses in vitamin and mineral values with the methods of producing, storing, washing, preparing for cooking, and cooking methods applied.
For the first time in 1934, the synthesis of vitamin C was achieved in a laboratory environment. In the following years, all other vitamins and mineral varieties were produced by people. For individual and community health, fermentation, extraction, and chemical processes can produce and use micronutrients in functional forms. These foods, which we can use in cases where adequate acquisition by natural means is impossible, stand before us as an alternative and ancillary.
We no longer have an excuse to avoid a balanced and adequate diet that prioritizes our health needs.
